Steve Jobs’ Last Words: Likely Hoax

A touching essay is said to contain the last words of Steve Jobs. It highlights his thoughts on wealth in the face of his own mortality. But did Jobs actually write these words?

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Steve Jobs’ Last Words

The essay began circulating heavily on social media in early November 2015, and it has been described as Steve Jobs’ last words, or his “dying declaration.” Let’s take a look at the essay.

I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer…

Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth…

Should be something that is more important:
Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days

Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.

God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.

The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.

That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on.

Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands.

What is the most expensive bed in the world?

Sick bed…
You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.

Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life.

When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading – Book of Healthy Life.

Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.

Analysis

The essay above has circulated heavily on social media, but few posts containing the declaration can be found prior to November 2015. Further, posts of these “dying words” have not included any sources to corroborate that this came from Jobs himself.

Although there are no sources to confirm or deny the declaration above, there are a few clues which indicate that this was not penned by Jobs.

There are no reports of this essay by mainstream press. While every detail of Jobs’ life has been under a microscope for years, this essay has not been reported by CNN, FoxNews, tech magazines, the Wall Street Journal, BBC, or any other major player that has chronicled the life and death of Steve Jobs. It can only be found on blogs and social media posts.

Writing style. If one compares the writing style of the essay with known writings of Steve Jobs (such as his resignation letter from 2011 or his thoughts on Flash in 2010), the style does not match that in the declaration above. The generous use of ellipses above, for example, is not found in writing examples left behind by Jobs.

Some words and phrases simply don’t read smoothly, such as “life supporting machines” (life support being far more commonly used) or “Non-stop pursuing of wealth” (one would expect the word pursuit here). One would expect Jobs to write his dying declaration at least at the same level as his resignation at Apple.

Bottom Line

The dying declaration of Steve Jobs appears to have gone viral on social media in November 2015, although there are no sources to corroborate its veracity. It has not been reported by any major media outlets which have traditionally covered Jobs-related stories. Finally, the grammatical style of the essay does not appear to match that of existing writings by Jobs. Based on those reasons, it would appear that the “Last Words by Steve Jobs” were written by someone else and attributed to Jobs.

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